In the afternoon, the extermination party marched through the Great Zasa jungle with a steady pace as the Gay-Bros cut their way through the jungle with their swords. They have not encountered any enemy so far until they move past a pretty obviously suspicious spot that is very suitable for dozens of goblins to hide…
"Rarrrrah—!" And as if on cue, dozens of goblins suddenly burst out from the thick bushes and dropped from the top of the trees where they were hiding with a bestial howl—not ahead of the marching column, but from the left flank, where hundreds of the Gay-Bros are walking ahead of the Zar-Bros in the marching formation.
Sharpened wooden spears and bone daggers of the goblins scraped against the bare skin of the Gay-Bros as the creatures assaulted the summoned units while the Gay-Bros quickly defended themselves, fending off the initial attack of the monsters in an orderly manner, as the goblins' ambush didn't actually manage to surprise anyone since Zarba had already been informed by Xin about their ambush location before their attacks even began.
And as expected, the ambush is pretty short-lived, as the Gay-Bros standing around where the goblins assaulted immediately turned in eerie unison towards the monsters that didn't even reach their chest—their swords flashed in synchronized arcs, severing multiple green limbs and hacking at the small bodies of the savage creatures mercilessly.
Blood sprays from the goblins across the jungle foliage and the bodies of the Gay-Bros as the goblins' ambush is rendered ineffective almost immediately, while the counterattack of the summoned units is so swift and deadly that the goblins can't even defend themselves properly as the Gay-Bros swarm them with a flurry of blades and kicks.
Under the swarm of the Gay-Bros overpowering them with sheer numbers and with more blades than their limbs to block with, the goblins could only cry out in despair and fear as the swords were hacking them to pieces. Originally they were supposed to attack fast and run away, but unfortunately the Gay-Bros didn't let them.
One of the goblins could even be seen screeching as three swords pierced its gut simultaneously before it got lifted off the ground in the middle of the summoned units, and then the Gay-Bros blades twisted and brutally tore the goblin apart outwardly in a grotesque blooming firework of gore.
"Tsk…" Nadia clicked her tongue at the interruption of their march but remained still, her greatsword resting against her shoulder—she is quite bored, as there was nothing for her to do yet, since the goblins got killed too fast for her to join in.
"Well, that was rather quick…" Zarba mumbled with a smirk, as he didn't even have to do anything while he watched with morbid curiosity as his summoned unit finished off the last goblin by shoving his swords inside the goblin's throat and stirring it around for maximum damage.
Then after the last goblin died, the extermination party continued marching forward again like the ambush didn't just happen—their formation remained the same, with the Zar-Bros in the back while the Gay-Bros swept ahead with brutal efficiency, hacking through foliage, crude traps, pitfalls, and the occasional group of suicidal goblins that were too stupid to run away.
As they march deeper into the jungle, some casualties of the summoned units also start to appear because of some traps, but the expired summons quickly get replaced by Zarba, who summoned more units, so in the end the traps only manage to slow the battalion down just a few seconds.
In the back of the marching army, Zarba's fingers are playing with his bowstring idly as he walks beside Nadia; he is starting to get bored too, just like her, until Xin contacts him telepathically.
'My husband, I see a strange goblin watching you from some distance away on top of the tree for a while now.' Xin informed him as she looked at the image of a small cloaked figure displayed on her magic circle.
"Oh? What is it doing?" Zarba spoke out loud as he caught Nadia's attention, who was looking at him with her brow rising.
'It seems to be encouraging itself…?' Xin reported with some curiosity in her tone, while Zarba made a bewildered expression; he had never heard of a goblin hyping itself before...
÷×÷×÷
"GREETINGS, I COME IN PEACE!!" The sudden loud voice resounding through the jungle—high-pitched but cohesive enough that you never suspect that the owner of the voice is a goblin.
Hearing the voice, Zarba's hand shot up, freezing the battalion as the cloaked figure that was watching them finally decided to show themselves after hyping themselves enough as they emerged from the foliage near Zarba and Nadia's position. Their small feet landed softly on the dried leaves, making a rustling noise as they didn't get too close while maintaining a distance of five meters away from the two.
The cloaked figure stood barely one meter and twenty centimeters tall; their oversized cloak that was made of dried leaves covered their entire frame, but the glint of intelligence in their blue eyes behind the hood was unmistakable.
This is not a goblin that the two of them expect from Xin's report. Zarba and Nadia could tell at first glance that the figure is not your typical monster. Nadia quickly moved her greatsword and pointed it at the cloaked figure on instinct, but Zarba placed his hand on her wrist.
"Wait, no need for that." Zarba said to Nadia as his gaze locked onto the figure's exposed hands and feet—tan skin, cute little clawed fingers interlocked in anxiety as it watched them carefully.
While Zarba was observing the figure, their faint scent was carried by the wind to his nose—not the usual rancid musk of goblins, but something herbaceous and flowery like perfume.
"You're not one of them, right?" He asked while stepping towards the figure with his hand on his Excellent. If it is a trap, he can just summon something in front as a shield.
Hearing him, the figure's cloak hood dipped in a jerky nod before taking a deep breath as if they were about to reveal that the world is not one flat piece of massive land to an inbred peasant.
"I am technically a goblin of this tribe you are going to exterminate, but I was born too different from the usual goblin, which means they ostracized me, so I don't care about them, but if you exterminated them all, then I would be alone in this dangerous jungle, so I wonder if I can tag along with you people…" A bitter laugh escaped them as they explained their situation and finally tugged the hood back fully, revealing the cute feminine face beneath that was not the ugly muck of the savage goblin that the trio Zarba, Nadia, and Xin, who is watching through her magic circle, expected to see.
The strange female goblin has tan skin, short black hair with a feathered hairband, big blue eyes, a small nose, and big pointed ears. Her eyes held a clarity no feral goblin possessed, and her demeanor was oddly civilized. No one will be able to tell that she is a goblin with her mutated appearance.
"I know where they're hiding their brood mothers. Their nest, the cave system layout. I'll show you." The mutated goblin said almost pleadingly as her clawed fingers clenched into fists briefly as she locked gaze with Zarba's brown eyes that widened from surprise, more than just the goblin's unusual appearance, as he knew this goblin girl from the game. "If you swear not to kill me after and take me with you as well, I really can't survive here in this jungle on my own..."
"Hmmm…" Zarba studied her for a while too long—long enough for Nadia to look at him questioningly. Then he finally smiled to the nervous goblin.
"You can come with us, I suppose." He agreed to the visible relief goblin girl as he jerked his chin toward the battalion.
"Come walk between us and be true to your word, otherwise..." He let the implication hang, watching the cute goblin nod her head vigorously before scurrying in between him and Nadia, who was watching the unusual goblin with slight wonder in her eyes as the goblin cloak rustled as she walked with them.
"What is your name, by the way?" Zarba asked as the goblin girl looked up at him with her blue eyes before answering with some hesitation, "You can call me… Mormon…"
'You let her follow?' Xin talked to Zarba in his mind, her voice barely concealing her suspicion of the strange goblin her husband just randomly picked up.
'Is that wise, my husband?' Her fingers were tapping on her crossed arms as she observed the goblin girl closely from the carriage. 'To trust such a thing so quickly…'
"Trust is a strong word, but I do believe she is telling the truth, though." Zarba murmured back, his gaze fixed on the small figure next to him as she jumped over a pitfall trap that one of the Gay-Bros had already stepped in. The goblin girl moved with practiced ease that looked far too graceful for a goblin. "But if she's lying, we'll know soon enough anyway."
'Hmph. She better not be…' Xin snorted as she wondered if this was her husband's whimsical intuition again.
"..." Mormon ears twitched at the words of Zarba mumbling, but she didn't turn around to look at him—she only continued to walk while thinking that they are at least willing to give her a chance, which is enough for her. To expect more is just too unreasonable otherwise…
Finally, after marching for almost an hour, the extermination party arrived at the place where the jungle's dense foliage is now clear up ahead, where the goblin's shoddy settlement comes into view as they see hundreds of goblins waiting for them behind the barricades of random things piled up together.
"Well, well, it's about time isn't it?" Zarba said with a smirk as he didn't waste time and immediately mentally commanded his troops and waved his hand forward to signal the charge…